"Woodsburner" Review and Reading Map

I just finished reading "Woodsburner". It's the first novel for author John Pipkin. The story is set in the 1800s in Concord, Massachusetts, and is the fictional tale of what happened when Henry David Thoreau accidentally started a forest fire, burning hundreds of acres outside Concord. Throughout the novel, readers are introduced to several Concord residents, and as the story progresses, we find that the fire is the one thing that connects them.

The book is well-written, though I wasn't fully engaged until about page 80. I picked up the book because of my interest in Thoreau. While I didn't learn anything new about him, I did learn about the history of Concord during Thoreau's time, and the book also renewed my interest in transcendentalism and Concord's literary history. The novel is dark, like so many acclaimed literary novels these days. There is one episode in particular that was disturbing, the late-night incident in the pumpkin patch, but at the novel's close, you find there is hope for the characters, and in effect, redemption for the whole of humanity.

As I was reading, I gathered information about different themes found in the novel. I used them to create a simple reading map below. Hope you enjoy.

Woodsburner Reading Map

(John Pipkin, 2009)

Woodsburner tells the story of what happened that fateful day in April 1844 when Henry David Thoreau accidentally set fire to hundreds of acres of Concord's forests. The novel follows several characters as they try to conquer the fire as well as the trials in their individual lives. Author John Pipkin draws an interesting picture of life in Concord in the 1800s when it was the nation's literary center.


If you're interested in learning more about Thoreau, try these sources.

Books:
Richardson, Robert D, Jr Henry Thoreau: A Life of Mind (1986)
Emerson, Edward Waldo Henry Thoreau as Remembered by a Young Friend (1999)

Websites:
The Thoreau Society http://www.thoreausociety.org/
The Thoreau Institute www.walden.org/Institute/Collections/Collections.htm
Thoreau Farm Trust http://www.thoreaufarm.org/


To learn more about Concord, Massachusetts, try the following.

Websites:
Concord Museum http://www.concordmuseum.org/
The Thoreau Society: Visit Concord www.thoreausociety.org/_news_visitconcord.htm
Concord Library: A Brief History of Concord www.concordlibrary.org/scollect/bhc/bhc.html


More about Concord's literary history.

Books:
Cheever, Susan American Bloomsbury (2006)
Schreiner, Samuel Agnew The Concord Quartet (2006)


Information about Walden Pond.

Websites:
The Walden Woods Project http://www.walden.org/
Walden Pond State Reservation www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/walden